Telit, a global enabler of the Internet of Things (IoT), on September 6, announced the BL871E2-HI, a dual-mode Bluetooth 4.2 host controller interface module with embedded chip antenna and audio support. The ultra-compact component is optimized for efficiency and simplicity in end-device design, delivering reliable Bluetooth functionalities with robust endpoint security, leveraging the processing power and external Bluetooth stack of the host application processor. The module includes certifications, all hardware features that reduce development costs, bill of materials, and time to market.

Ideal for quick-turn projects, the BL871E2-HI seamlessly speeds up device design across a wide range of industrial and consumer applications areas. The 9.7×10.1mm, 18-pad LCC component delivers basic rate (BR), enhanced data rate (EDR) and low-energy (LE) connectivity, for applications such as scanners & printers, mobile point of sales, m-healthcare, industrial gateways, and for audio equipped devices across all areas of the electronics industry.

“We are seeing a significant increase in the number of device manufacturers across a broad set of industries looking to update and refresh their products with Bluetooth connectivity,” explained Sandro Spanghero, Telit Senior VP of Global Product Management. “With the BL871E2, we are responding to this demand rise. The new product is ideal in these cases because it is an accomplished, very small and low-cost RF frond-end module that connects to the processor already designed into the host device, delivering full-featured Bluetooth connectivity for up to seven active concurrent connections.”

The BL871E2-HI is a hardware-only product. It requires no additional external supporting components to deliver Bluetooth functionality to the host device. The required Bluetooth stack is not included with the module to maximize bill-of-material flexibility. Either a customer-provided or Telit-sourced Blue Code +SR protocol stack must be made to run in the host processing environment to complete the solution.

In addition to efficient performance and low power consumption, BL871E2-HI includes value-added features that further streamline development: Supports Android, Linux and Windows Bluetooth stacks

Class 1 TX power up to +12 dBm

Receiver Sensitivity: -95 dBm

UART, PCM and I²S interfaces

BR/EDR 128-bit hardware encryption accelerator

Scatternet: Up to 3 simultaneous piconets – 1 master and 2 slaves

Fast Automatic Frequency Hopping (AFH) algorithm

Support for all voice air-coding schemes

Assisted mode for HFP 1.6 Wideband Speech (WBS)

Integrators and manufacturers designing with the BL871E2-HI have access to comprehensive development and integration tools including a Raspberry PI 2-based evaluation and development kit with extensive software and support resources.